Water - 252 Reviews

It's that time of year again and the limited edition summer line by Polar is finally here. I have been checking the grocery store for weeks and it has paid off, as there are some new flavors this time around that definitely got me excited.

Pineapple is one of the greatest fruits we have discovered on this vast planet. Sure if you eat too much it can be painful. I once ate an entire pineapple, by self, in one sitting and it made my tongue bleed. Citrus can be a harsh mistress, but the taste makes it worth it. That side of this twist is fantastic. I'm not exactly sure who got away with pitching adding lemon to it though. Lemon is a budget flavoring and I feel that as humans we can move past it for the most part. I'm sure it was proposed as pineapple lemonade, which would have been incredible. That belongs in their Seltzerade line though, as here the flavor doesn't have the punch it needs to be classified as a lemonade. A pineapple lime would have been nice. I would have loved to have gotten a pineapple-apple seltzer, as the name would make me laugh every time I poured a glass. My number one choice would have been pineapple vanilla though. I've made it on my own and it's delicious.

As it stands this is fairly tasty and I went through the bottle quick. I just feel there are better potential pairings out there that were missed out on.

When you live in a country where more and more people are finally starting to become health conscious eventually seltzer water is going to come into the mainstream. I'm not saying that it used to be a underground phenomenon. It's not like it's the mid 80's and Dischord is at the forefront of the DC punk scene. It just wasn't something that was everywhere with tons of people drinking it. I've been seeing a lot of ads for Bubbly around lately. Something about the design work made me think of generic store brand and I didn't hold much hope for greatness. I finally grabbed this today when I was thirsty, on the run, and not looking for sugar. While it's not mind-blowing and bursting with flavor in a way that makes you question if there is secretly sugar involved in some way, but it is very good. The strawberry is subtle, yet present. I'm aware of the contradiction there. It's just that it's not really there while you mull over the flavor in your mouth, but the second you swallow it's strawberry town. Maybe strawberry-ville? Well, it's certainly more than the hamlet of strawberry. Whatever, it's tasty and tastes as much like strawberries as you possibly could without it being sweet. With a price point a bit higher than my standby Polar, I don't know if I could buy a case to grab on the go, but I would certainly grab these again from gas stations while I'm out and about. Sometimes the increased quality just does not justify the increase in price, well at least for me, but I'm cheap.

I will finally acknowledge that I am an adult. I am responsible. I take care of my bills on time. I no longer have the time for drama and nonsense in my life. Most importantly I don't need to ingest mass amounts of sugar. For a couple of years now I have been riding the seltzer train. At first it was a little hard going, but I soon completely latched on. Sure, there are times where I do have a sugar craving, or a certain type of beverage won't leave my brain. Sometimes I give in and give myself a treat. Others I fill the gap with something somewhat similar but healthier. Now I am a fool for blood orange anything. It's the superior citrus fruit in my world, and I can't get enough of it. When I saw that Polar expanded their Seltzer'ade line and it included a Blood Orange Lemonade, I couldn't get a case into my cart fast enough. Sometimes things just can't match the expectations that form in your head though. While this is quite tasty, it is by no means a replacement for a good blood orange Italian soda. It is a flavor that needs a little sugar to be enhanced. As I said this is very good, but it may be the lightest flavored of this line that I have tried. If this was as strong as the mango one I would have a new beverage of the summer. As it stands I don't know how often I would get it as it leaves me wanting.

Pina colada. Not too shabby, right? It's a little cup of summertime. I think it's illegal in most states to sell it when it's not summer. It would devalue it too much. It would also taste bad since the environmental climate is unbalanced in respect to the required prerequisites of the pineapple and coconut. Science stuff, man. Just trust us.

This is full of protein and you can taste it in every sip. There is no getting around it. It's amazing this is a liquid and not sludge. 15 grams of protein is no joke. It tastes a bit chalky, as you would probably guess. Even six hours of refrigeration can't save you from it. It tastes alright, though. Chalk aside. It has a good pina colada taste but you can taste the immense amount of protein and you can also taste the sucralose that makes it a little gross but a whole bottle clocking in at sixty calories is not an easy feat. Cut whatever corners you have to.

All in all, if you are trying to bulk up (bro) this isn't a bad place to start. Gains.

If this is Ocean Spray giving their take on Vitamin Water, they are a bit late to the game. If it's just them trying something new, well it's not really a novel idea, but I still enjoy it. I feel like this is some trick to save them money. It's essentially the same as their normal juice , except the hfcs or sugar are swapped out for the zero calorie Erythritol and I'm pretty sure they just added more water to the juice so it was thinner and less strong. It doesn't taste watered down, but it also no longer feels like a juice either (they aren't marketing it that way). It really tastes like a naturally diet cran-raspberry vitamin water. I know I made it seem like this beverages existence is nefarious, but it's just a tasty drink that is exactly what it says it is.

Have the tides changed for taste buds? Have I just been told what to like and accepted it? I never used to like seltzer until a couple of years ago, then I tried the Polar vanilla and my life changed. It seemed around that time, or shortly after, that new brands started popping up and it started showing up more places. Was that all coincidence, or were darker forces at work? I mean I'm all for dark forces if they are working to make people consume healthier things. I would just like to know if my thoughts are my own. Let's be honest here, seltzer is the new iteration of the pomegranate phase. It's everywhere and no one really remembers asking for it, but we enjoy it. Whatever, It's zero sugar and it has bubbles to scratch my throat. I'm on board.

I had never heard of the Cabo company until I came across a four-pack of these cans on sale for one dollar. That's not a deal you pass up. The grapefruit flavoring is on the lighter side of a bunch of other companies I have tried similar products of, but there is a vague almost floral taste that lays underneath it. It's makes it a more unique flavor, but keeps it refreshing. Everything about this carbonated bottle is fairly laid back, just like I imagine a vacation would be in the tourist haven of Mexico. Man, that sounds horrible. I simply do not do well with laid back and relaxing. I need to always be on the move. How about you go to Cabo and I'll head to Mexico City and we can exchange stories afterwards. I'll be the one covered in sticky mango juice from eating three times my body weights' worth.

This is half wonderfully punishing and half reminiscent of my jobs as a dishwasher. That's where I place it. The lemon ,oh, dat lemon. I don't know where this lemon flavor is from but it does not taste like real lemon. If it's real, I guess I don't know what real lemon taste like. As for the cayenne, I am from Buffalo and my roots are in cayenne. This is a welcomed punch in the tongue. Ever since Jay and I got rightfully reamed out by the guys as Prometheus Springs, we have grown to love and appreciate a nice, spicy drink. This being a water drink, though, has its chuggability diminished by the fact your mouth would be increasingly on fire. Being from where I am, though, this is actually good. Take a little sip. Get a little burn. Take a big gulp. Get a big burn. Swish it around. There's that tingle you want. Am I a masochist? Nope. Do I like a good runny nose when I eat spicy food? Yes I do.

The lemon did take some getting used to but was it awful? No. It wasn't. It just took my taste buds for a loop. It might have been the spice that threw it off. I don't know. I have another one at home that I look forward to drinking. Maybe I'll give it to my kids when they're bothering me. Was that Hint's intention? I don't care. Hint didn't know that they were going to trash their room again and expect me to clean it up did they? Some people spank their kids. I might just choose to give them secretly spicy drinks when they're not listening to their G.D. dad after he asked them to feed the dog four G.D. times.

Oh, and I don't know why there is caffeine in there. Do people need caffeine in their water?

What I have been drinking is possibly the least flavorful La Croix flavor. It stands tall with most other seltzer companies, but it doesn't have the strong flavor punch one comes to expect from this company. I had anticipated more from tangerine as it's a naturally strong flavor, but it just kind of hangs there like a sitcom will they won't they relationship.

Sap. I am drinking sap. It's not even sap from a maple tree. It's birch sap. I'm guessing drinking sap is something the majority of people in the United States would never imagine themselves doing, but it's a thing and it is apparently very popular in Scandinavia. When I was there I didn't see anyone drinking sap, but then again I wasn't looking for it. Here I am though sipping away at sap and it's not all that bad. It is very different tasting than maple, because you know different trees different tastes. It is somehow not syrupy, nor is it very sweet. Actually it pretty much has the consistency of water, which was unexpected. It is very refreshing and hydrating. I don't really know how to describe the flavor. I believe it is its own thing that has no real comparison. I can taste a light rosehips in here though. This is nothing what I expected, but it is a good thing. Give it a try and attempt to describe the flavor yourself.

What we have here could only be described as a tasty seltzer water. What we also have here might be the weakest of the Seltzer'ade line. If this had been released as a normal Polar flavor I would have thought it was quite pleasant. It has a cherry flavor that doesn't remind me of medicine or black cherries, and that is always a plus. It also has a light subtle lime flavor to it, which makes a great base for any seltzer. The only problem is that by throwing that Seltzer'ade branding on it, my expectations are instantly raised. The rest of the flavors are incredibly strong and bold, this lacks in both of those. That by no means makes this a bad product, but it's just not worthy of the title (and additional price). If Polar were to put this exact same product in their normal bottles I would be more prone to purchase it again.

Look at being preemptive and getting their winter flavors out before the snow has even begun to fall. Hell, I'm still reviewing summer flavors and they are two seasons ahead.

When I heard this was an upcoming flavor I was beyond excited. Lime is the basis for most of the seltzer I drink and ginger is my weakness. I would probably purchase any beverage that had ginger in the flavor name. This, unfortunately, leaves something to be desired. The lime is right where I want it to be, but the ginger simply isn't strong enough and tastes more like ginger flavoring than the actual root. Ginger is a flavor that is meant to be bold and in your face (as well as burning your throat). This is just not that. It's still good, and I would buy it from time to time, but it is by no means a new favorite. I suppose it's good that it's seasonal. Maybe I will grow to miss it by next winter's release.

This may in fact be the best seltzer ever created. All other seltzers were given inferiority complexes when this was released. They all lay awake at night, looking at a 4am ceiling wondering where they went wrong in their lives. The poor things never stood a chance.

The mango smell that permeates from this is so strong that in a blind sniff test there is no way I would have guessed it was a seltzer. The flavor rivals that scent and is so strong and pleasant. The lime sits perfectly under the mango for a tropical treat. My senses are treated so well by this beverage that my mind is tricked into thinking I was drinking something that is laden with sugar. In reality there is not a speck of it.

Birch beer is fantastic. Let's get this. Well this doesn't taste like birch beer. It doesn't smell like it. It doesn't taste like it. This is probably (zero research, friends) the birch equivalent of maple water but doesn't tastes like you strained it through some tasty flapjacks.

Brass tacks. This is water, bruh. It's water with a hint of something you will never know what it is. I promise. It tastes like nothing. It smells like nothing. I could have been had with this drink as far as I know. Is it bad? Well that depends. Are you one of those idiots that thinks water is gross? If so, come on, dude. Grow up. Juice is terrible for you. Learn a book you dummy. Juice is just a cheating way to get kids to drink more water. You're 32. Drink water and eat your vegetables.

Come on Polar, you obviously have the means, so why not make all of your seltzers this flavorful? Why save it for a specialized line? Has there been a new breakthrough in the sugarless flavoring world that has allowed you to up the taste? Going back to your classic flavors after drinking the Seltzer'ade line just leaves me wanting now. I mean I am still drinking a ton of the stuff, but the magic is gone. I have been shown that the world is more than I thought it was and I want it all. This is bursting with flavor, well at least as much as seltzer can be. Or, can there be more? I never would have expected it could have been before, but I was proven wrong).Give me more Polar. Give me it all.

Dear Readers,
I am a slacker and I am waaaaayyyy behind the times. This summer Polar released their Seltzer'ade line and here I sit in autumn's grasp and I have only reviewed one of them. To be fair, the blueberry lemonade was the only one of the five flavors that I actually saw in the stores around Buffalo during the actual summer. Now that a Whole Foods finally opened here a couple of weeks ago I was able to pick up some cases of three of the remaining flavors (the tart cherry is still elusive). Summer may be behind us, but I certainly hope Polar leaves these available all year around. As much as I hate to admit it, they are superior to the classic Polar flavors that I live off of. The flavors are way more pronounced, to an extent that several times I have found myself checking to make sure there isn't any sugar involved (there isn't).

I would best describe the watermelon lemonade as someone dissolved a handful of Jolly Ranchers in a glass of carbonated water, and then somehow removed all the sugar. It doesn't taste particularly like an actual watermelon, but it is uncannily similar to the pre mentioned candy without the sweetness. That blows my mind because that candy is probably 99% sugar, yet this tastes exactly like it.

This particular flavor isn't something I would drink all of the time, but I wish I would have had it during the summer. I also think this line is the key to weening children off soda. Slowly replace their soda with cans of this and they will be off the sugar in no time, to the dismay of the Dental Association of America.

Here we have it, the fourth and final Seltzer Jr flavor of the season (Also the first one released last year that I couldn't get my hands on). The season is ending the hot weather is gone and fall is rolling right in. Should I have reviewed this when the weather was still nice and you were still able to find this on the shelves? Of course I should have, but life gets hectic and the 1 minutes that it's going to take me to write this were too much to spare between hanging out in the woods and reading comics (and work and travelling). Did I drink a bunch of these and not write about it for about a month? You can bet your kids on it. Let's be honest here, this was a limited line and there was no way that Polar wasn't going to sell out of it. They barely lasted a week at my grocery store in Buffalo. They didn't need my help pushing the product. They were kind enough to send me some samples before they made their way to the Western NY market though, which was very kind of them. We have nothing but love for Polar here at Thirsty Dudes. We just tend to be lazy sometimes. We do this for fun, and that's that.
It turns out that a unicorn's diet mostly consists of cucumbers because that is what this slobbery kiss tastes like. I also detect a bit of melon in there. On top of that it's all candied up, even though there is no sugar. At first I was so-so on this one, but once I realized it was cucumber my interests rose.Well done Polar. Can't wait until next summer.

This tastes more like maple than any of their other products I've tasted. The thing is that as strong as the maple taste is, the blueberry flavor is there to match it. I liked another flavor in this line to Vitamin Water, but this does not bring that company's products to mind, even if they are similar in vitamin and electrolyte content. This is a new class of "sports drink” that is more suited for those from the north. It tastes less of vitamins and sugar and more of the two ingredients it is advertised as being flavored as.

Does water not have to be put on ingredients lists anymore? The reason I ask is that it is nowhere to be found on this bottle and the first two things listed are organic maple sap concentrate and organic maple syrup. I know that when maple is tapped from a tree it is very liquidy and only acquires its sticky, syrupy state when cooked, but I didn't realize you could use it as the base for a beverage on its own. I would have assumed you needed to mix it with water. If you were to ask me I would say that I would think this would be a very viscous beverage but it really has the consistency of water.

What we have here is essentially Vitamin Water made with maple. It doesn't taste like maple syrup at all, it's just there as that watery base. It really tastes like a cranberry pomegranate Vitamin Water. It's full of antioxidants, electrolytes, and vitamins. Not what I expected, but enjoyable enough.

I enjoy Spindrift's stuff. I've had a bunch of it and it's nice to see it come here (Buffalo) so that it makes it easier to get. It's like a seltzer for people who want things a little more juice and less seltzer. It's kind of a mild difference but it's there and you can tell even if you can't put your finger on exactly what it is. This has a taste you have to either just like or get used to, though. It's not like a seltzer in that it's bright and bubbly so don't go in head first and expect it. It's got something else that, like I said, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is.

As far as the taste, it's an accurate raspberry and lime flavor. Evenly flavored and not messed around with other sweeteners or ingredients. It's a nice, bare bones drink that could be a nice alternative to your seltzer habit which I can stop at any time, mom, jeez! Get off my back already.

I do not know what a margarita is aside from a drink that my live-in-wife likes to order as a "salty marg." This did taste like watermelon, or, perhaps closer to a watermelon candy (somehow) without sugar. Could you imagine eating watermelon that wasn't sweet? That would be a strange thing. Watermelons are very sweet. This was not at all sweet and as far as I could tell, also not salty. I don't know what this is, to be quite honest. Sparkling watermelon perhaps. The margarita might just be a word they used to append to the end.

This is not bad and it's far from my least favorite but it's not bad. It's unfortunately not one of the ones I would come back to actively. There are times when I go to parties and think to myself, "Well the kids will have juice boxes and the adults will have beers so it looks like it's another Polar for me." and that's how I roll to parties. I might roll with this. It's safe but it's not exceptional.